Syringe for medical and dental purposes



Sept. 25, 1962 G. HECK 3,055,366

SYRINGE FOR MEDICAL AND DENTAL PURPOSES Filed Nov. 19, 1956 INVENTOR.GUSTAV I-IECK FIG. 4. I W

AT TORNEY United @tates 3,055,366 SYRII' IGR FGR MEDKQAI. AND DENTALPURPUSES Gustav Heck, ll ntsehelhach, Kreis Karlsrnhe, SiedlungSonnenberg, Germany, assignor to Bitter Company, line, Rochester, N.Y.,a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 19, 1955, Ser. No. 623,024 6Claims. (Q1. 1'28--247) This invention relates to syringes such as areused by the medical and dental profession and more particularly to asterilizable handle for such syringes.

It has heretofore been the practice in the medical field, particularlythe dental branch thereof, to provide dental units with a syringe toenable the dentist to spray the tooth being operated upon with farmwater or an airatornized spray of water. Such syringes are usuallymounted in a dental unit and have a handle including a nozzle whichshould be sterilized between successive patients. Th handle and nozzlein such syringes are removable from the sterilizer body and placed in asteam sterilizer or autoclave.

The syringes of the type described above have been uniformly made sothat in order to separate the handle from the syringe body, it wasnecessary to hold the syringe body with one hand and unscrew the handle.After sterilizing the handle and nozzle, the handle was screwed back onthe sterilizer body again requiring a two-hand operation. Thus, thehands of the dentist, washed between patients, can become contaminatedby contact with the unsterilized syringe body even though the handle andnozzle have been sterilized. Germs can thus be carried from one patientto another.

An object of my invention is to provide a simple, convenient andinexpensive syringe construction wherein the handle and nozzle may besterilized and replaced on the syringe body without the necessity of thedentist handling the syringe body.

A further object of my invention relates to the provision of means forenabling the dentist to steriliz the handle and nozzle of a syringewithout grasping the syringe body.

More specifically, my invention contemplates the provision of areleasable lock between the syringe body and the syringe holder orsocket and a releasable lock between the syringe handle and the syringebody, the two locks being so constructed and arranged that the syringemay be used in the normal manner when in use in connection with apatient but in which, in the act of removing the handle from thesterilizer body, the releasable lock between the syringe body and thesocketis automatically established so that the dentist may remove thehandle with the use of one hand, and after sterilization, may replacethe handle on the syringe body with a one-hand operation, in whichoperation the releasable lock between the syringe body and the socket isautomatically disestablished and the syringe restored for normal usewithout the necessity of the dentist handling the syringe body.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be particularly setforth in the claims and will be apparent from the following description,when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical view showing a syiinge mounted in the socket orholder of a dental unit, the socket being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a vertical view of the syringe with the handle part and nozzlein a partly removed position with respect to the syringe body;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1in the direction indicated by the arrow but with the syn'nge bodyunlocked with respect to the socket;

3,055,366 Patented Sept. 25, 1962 FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar toFIG. 3 showing the position of the parts when the syringe body is lockedwith respect to its holder or socket and indicating by the arrow thedirection of rotation of the handle part when the parts are rotated fromthe unlocked condition of FIG. 3 to the unlocked condition of FIG. '4;and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 showing the direction ofrotation, after the handle has been sterilized, during replacement ofthe handle in assembled relation with the syringe body.

In Bronk Reissue Patent No. 24,087 originally file-d December 9, 1950,and issued October 5, 1954, there is disclosed a so-called dental unitor equipment stand in which the device of my invention may be installed.In that patent there is disclosed a number of dental instruments one ofwhich is a syringe. Syringes of the type with which my invention isconcerned are also employed in some branches of the medical professionand may be mounted in units or equipment stands or cabinets ofconstructions other than shown in the above mentioned Bronk patent.

In the drawings 1 have shown a carrier plate 11 which may be mounted ina dental unit. The plate customarily supports a number of sockets orholders 12. The sockets may be carried by the plate 11 in any suitablemanner, for example, by the flange 13 and the nut 14.

The holder 12 is cylindrical in cross-section and is provided at itslower end with a portion of decreased diameter to form a shoulder 16upon which the syringe, generally indicated by the numeral 17, seatswhen it is not in use by the dentist. Below the shoulder 16 a passage 18is provided through which a cable 19 passes. As is well understood inthe art, the cable is flexible and provided with retractable means whichnormally retains the syringe in the seated position on the shoulder 16.In the case of a syringe, the cable 19 carries air and water tubes orpassages.

The syringe, generally indicated by the numeral 17, comprises a handlepart 21 and a syringe body part 22, both of which are cylindrical incross-section and preferably of the same diameter. The body part 22carries the usual valve and switch which have not been shown since theyare conventional, well-known in the art to which this invention appliesand do not constitute part of the present invention. The cable 19,carrying the air and water tubes, is also rigidly secured to and in thesyringe body 22 and the air and water tubes are connected to tubularmeans extending through the syringe body 22, the handle 21 to the nozzle(not shown) located at the end of the handle.

As shown in FIG. 2 the handle part 21 has threads 26 formed interiorlythereof adapted to be received on threads 27 formed exteriorly on thesyringe body part 22.

The holder or socket 12 adjacent the bottom thereof has preferably apair of pins 28 projecting inwardly beyond the interior wall thereof.The syringe body 22 has a pair of bayonet slots formed therein whichinclude the usual vertical slots 29 and the usual horizontal slots 31.The bayonet slots 2931 preferably are provided with considerableclearance with respect to the pins to enable convenient entry of thepins in the slots. It is, however, desirable that the handle part 21 andthe body part 22 be arranged for threaded assembly so that in normaluse, these parts constitute a rigid assembly.

'In normal use of the device, the parts are located in the positionshown in FIGS. 3 and 5 with the pins 28 in registry with the verticalportions 29 of the bayonet slots. With the pins in this position thehandle 21 may be grasped and pulled out for use on a patient against theaction of the retractable flexible hose 19. At the termination of workon a patient the dentist usually washes his hands and desires tosterilize the handle 21. For this purpose he grasps the handle androtates it in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow A.This action rotates the syringe as a whole until the pins 28 engage theends of the slots 31. The threads 26 and 27 extend in a direction suchthat when the pins engage the ends of the slots 31, continued rotationof the handle unthreads the handle from the syringe body part 22 and thehandle and nozzle may be sterilized in a sterilizer or autoclave in theusual manner. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the handle 21may be removed from the body part 22 of the syringe with one hand andthe body part remains in the socket locked against axial movement. It isunnecessary for the dentist to grasp the body part 22.

After the handle and nozzle have been sterilized the handle may bereplaced and moved into assembled relation with the body part 22 bythreading the handle onto the body part. When the lower end of thehandle part 21 engages the upper face 33 of the body part 22, continuedrotation of the handle part rotates the body part 22 in a clockwisedirection, as indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 5, so that the parts arerestored to the position indicated in FIGS. 3 and wherein the pins 28are in registry with the vertical portions 29 of the bayonet slots.

It will now be appreciated that the dentist can sterilize the handle andnozzle without contaminating his washed hands by contact with thenon-sterilized syringe body part 22. Moreover, the operation can becarried out with one hand and, after sterilization of the handle partand rotation of the parts to the position of FIGS. 3 and 5, the syringeis ready for use in the normal manner merely by grasping the handle andpulling it outward against the action of the retractable flexible hose19. The shoulder 16 forms a seat or stop for the syringe and itslocation with respect to the pins 28 insures that when the syringe isseated on the shoulder 16 the pins will lie at the tops of the slots 29and in registry with the slots 31.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, itwill be apparent that various changes and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forthin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a socket rigidly mounted in a dental unit support;and a dental syringe slidably receivable axially in said socket; saidsyringe including a syringe body part having air and water connectionsand a detachable sterilizable handle part; means between said parts forreleasably locking them together; said parts being movable in relationto each other to a handle part releasing position; means between saidsocket and said.

4 body part is a pin and groove connection, with the pin being carriedby one of the mating walls of th socket and body part, and the grooveconnection being on the other of the mating walls.

3. A syringe construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein the lockingmeans between the handle part and the body part is a threadedconnection, and movement of the handle part to unthread it from thesocket automatically locks the body part with respect to the socket.

4. A syringe construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein the lockingmeans between the socket and the body part is a bayonet type lock andthe locking means between the handle part and the body part is athreaded connection, said parts being threaded in a direction for movingsaid bayonet lock to a locked position upon rotation of the handle partin an unthreading direction, to enable removal of the handle part by theuse of one hand while the body part remains in the socket.

5. The combination of a socket rigidly mounted in a dental unit support;and a dental syringe slidably receivable axially in said socket; saidsyringe including a substantially cylindrical syringe body part havingair and water connections and a substantially cylindrical handle parthaving threaded connections to the body part; means for releasablylocking said body part in said socket against withdrawal of said bodypart axially from said socket; said locking means being normally in areleased position when the syringe is to be removed from the socket foruse; said handle part being unthreaded from the body part when thehandle part is to be sterilized; and said locking means being moved to alocked position in response to relative rotation between said parts in adirection of unthreading the handle part, thereby preventing removal ofthe body part; and after the handle part has been sterilized, threadingof the handle part back into the body part moves said locking means tosaid released position.

6. The combination of a socket rigidly mounted in a dental unit support;and a dental syringe slidably receivable axially in said socket; saidsyringe having a body part carrying air and water connections and adetachable handle part telescopically mating with said body part;locking means between said parts releasably locking them together uponrelative rotational movement between said parts; and locking meansbetween said socket and body part for automatically locking said bodypart in said socket upon relative rotation between said body and handleparts to an unlocked position and for automatically unlocking said bodypart from said socket upon relative rotation between said body andhandle parts to a locked position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS369,631 Butcher Sept. 6, 1887 442,785 Schoettl Dec. 16, 1890 1,645,660Pieper Oct. 18, 1927 2,094,888 Hooper Oct. 5, 1937 2,214,774 PieperSept. 17, 1940 2,855,930 Blankfield Oct. 14, 1958

